Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but Premium users receive great benefits. Premium benefits include:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
I just learned that Bayle, Albertyn, Wilson, Roczen, and Ferrandis are American champions. Sounds kinda stupid, doesn't it?
The Americans won MXGP championships or whatever they called it back then, and the Europeans (not Albertyn before some idiot comments) won AMA Pro Motocross championships.
What is shocking to me,that a guy with such attitude won 4 titles in world championship. He bet Herlings,Gajser,Febvre and many others legendary riders... and now its just paradox,I can't even image Jeffrey or Tim ride so bad on purpose,Herlings sometimes riding "slow" after injuries,but we always see a progress and comeback. Tim or Romain also always pushing,yeah sometimes not risking too much,but they are pushing even with bad setups.
Your opinion, nothing more... As if that area has more time zones, climates and even potentially cultures than the US. Do you really think western cultured humans are all that different?
I was surprised how Prado got such a big and long contract not even having raced the Kawasaki yet because even championship winners only get a 1 or 2 year deal. Jett is an exception where Honda said we got you for a long time. The Prado shoulder injury could have messed up their plans and testing. There was a race or 2 he was riding well with decent settings.
The Shop
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Free shipping: VITALMX
You think that sort of thing never happens?
What countries are in the continent of Australia?
Your ignorance of the United States is impressive. Europe has the same number of time zones as the U.S does, and to think of the U.S. as one hegemony of culture is senseless. Yes, one national language in the U.S on paper, but in reality you need to speak different languages in different areas. Continental U.S. climate (8-9 total) is more diverse than that of Continental Europe (6-7.)
Luongo paid for the FIM stamp to ensure other promoters wouldn't challenge him with a rival series outside of the U.S, where that might be easier. If you think the FIM stamp is really necessary to crown champions for motorcycle series, look to Romaniacs and Erzberg Hard Enduro events declining to be sanctioned by FIM this year, for evidence that is not the case even outside of the U.S.
Back to Prado...
None. Why?
Wait, I guess Australia is a country within the continent of Australia?
This whole situation is a shitshow that both parties wish would never had come about.
Not without reason a lot of people have piled on Prado but when I see such extreme or unexpected behaviour I try to look for reasons or causes. To a large degree people aren’t malicious but if they feel they have no other option they might resort to extreme tactics.
Now it could be that Prado is just a prima donna and being totally unreasonable. Maybe his shoulder injury never quite recovered properly and he couldn’t attain the fitness levels he needed. Maybe he realised he was never going to compete where he thought he was and this is an elaborate plan to get himself out.
It could also be that he tried everything reasonable and Kawi tried their genuine best with what they had but it just didn’t work out. It could also be that Kawi were obstinate and refused to do much or the things we know they did were done under protest with no real intention to make them work. It’s possible that the front line team was working their arses off but senior people weren’t playing the same game.
With what is currently known publicly any of those scenarios could be true.
As you said I doubt we will ever know the whole truth, especially from the Kawasaki side. It’s a bit of a generalisation but Japanese companies and culture don’t very often allow the admission of mistakes.
30 years in Europe, 10 in the U.S. — I’ve lived both. Dallas to Denver isn’t Spain to Indonesia. Here you’re never far from a Chipotle; Prado earned 4 world titles doing it the hard way. And what “different languages” are we talking about in the U.S.? Ordering tacos in Spanish doesn’t count. (He speaks that too, by the way.)
Kawi has a bad history of not making the bike what riders want and need. Tomac had some freaky bad moments and riders get easily blamed.
I never hear AC say the bike or staff had any problems so they kept him his whole career. He only spoke of him trying to adapt with his nerve injuries instead of the bike having problems.
Remember Williamson? He’s the most easy going guy like Prado is fun and genuine and he quit with an attitude so I can see even s nice kid like Prado could get frustrated after a while.
I don’t know Prado but I feel really bad if we are taking shots at him because he’s having issues riding the bike. I would go back to Europe not because he’s a spoiled jerk but because we are treating him bad he doesn’t deserve and how the rest of the world doesn’t talk about him like we do.
What sells me on the MXGP is that they actually travel the world to get a “world title”. Racing in the US may have certain riders from more continents but going all over the world with diverse terrain and building a fan base with fans from all over the world makes a world champ to me.
You actually think KHI hired Prado to destroy his career? Thai is fucked up.
Yeah because the USA doesn't have diverse terrain or people from all over the world or fans from all over the world. We are all native Americans ftom Omaha.
Chase thought the Honda made him wash out the front end, KTM had bikes that were haunted with defective parts/maintenance so this should be interesting to see what happens with him at Kawasaki. Do you think he will last Supercross and Motocross before wanting to switch to Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati, Beta, or Can-Am? Triumph may not hire him at this point.
New Orleans, Rochester NY, Dallas, Detroit, to Boise despite having the same language, have vastly different cultures, values, past times, and attitudes. US is a big country
You aren’t convinced that traveling the world makes any difference than just racing in one continent using the language of a world title?
Remember the 1 round in Canada that had us claiming it was all the sudden a “World Supercross Championship”?
The world has 9 billion people and most of them aren’t in the US but other continents.
I think top guys should take note from Kenny. That skinny bastard tried everything and picked what he felt best on. Looks to be working out.
I'd be really surprised to hear Prado's decision wasnt more influenced by $$$ over a real thought of how the bike would work?
Pit Row
I don’t think they conspired to destroy his career. Do people and companies make poor and irrational decisions from time to time? Yes. Relationships go bad. Companies have policies that they can be dogmatic about, even to their detriment. People have principles they can be dogmatic about even to their detriment.
Somehow Kawasaki and Prado reached a point where their business relationship deteriorated to the point of no return. I’m sure they both wish it didn’t happen but I’d almost guarantee there are decisions and actions on both sides that with hindsight they might reconsider.
I can promise you, having travelled to quite a few GPs now and generally just around the world. Going from my house in Florida to anywhere around the country is not nearly as gnarly as going to Germany, Belgium, China or Indonesia. In Palembang and Semarang Indonesia, in 2019 for the GP there, teams had to hire taxi drivers just to get out of the paddock back to their hotels. Somehow my boss and I rented a car at one round and got a hired driver at the next. We had to give riders and team members a lift because they had a 4 hour wait for a taxi to get out. You go to places where you can’t read a menu for dinner, can’t communicate with the locals because they do not know 5 words in English or any other language. I heard that the last year in indo, in front actually booked an entire hotel for all the riders and used their own cooks to cook all the food for them. I could be a little off on the exact details. But yeah, traveling to Dallas, NYC, washougal and Ironman are not really that difficult.
Hell yeah Kenny. Except for the shock malfunction he’s throwing down crazy whips and is riding on a bike brand he grew up on.
Jorge spent his career on KTM so why is going back such a Cardinal sin?
I think Prado is getting paid pretty well but similar to Tomac or Kenny he doesn’t want to just cruise around and risk injury top 10 but ride to his potential.
Even though Anderson liked being there as another nice guy he wasn’t racing for podiums or wins and they just dropped him like a bad habit too.
All you guys arguing about the US vs Europe, meanwhile we’re just here like:
In a lot of places you can’t drink the water and don’t forget this is a pandemic which means the whole world is affected by life threatening illness.
These riders have huge balls to get on a plane and fly to god knows where and risk illness. The US is bad for Covid but even the plane can make you sick.
For 5 years this has been a bad time to travel but they do anyway and it’s not making millions of dollars for the rest of their lives either.
The best defense has been fish tank semi trucks or tents. The diverse soil in your face isn’t chocolate sprinkles.
They just added a Spanish speaking broadcast so I don’t think the advertising and TV exects want to see their top placing Spanish speaking racer get bad publicity or not finish races well.
Motocross doesn’t pay that well so Prado could have easily backed out that.
SMX is advertised as a good pay chance for only 3 races and good publicity so I doubt Prado’s first motive isn’t to ride SMX and get some extra cash and publicity.
Same thing for des nations, something weird is going on if Prado isn’t representing his country either that he wouldn’t be quick to refuse.
Weirder things have happened and Mike Craig came out years later saying that tripping over his boots at the hotel after beating McGrath and getting fired from Yamaha was a lie.
https://racerxonline.com/2011/03/30/the-list-ten-very-strange-stories
The best riders CHOOSE to ride here. Case closed.
Just like Everts, Herlings, Cairoli, Smets, Goebers. and Gajser. Decoster is the only one in the MXGP top 10 who raced here for championships.
There’s no Erzberg, ISDE, Dakkar, Romaniacs, or even Baja in USA.
Bayle, Ward, Roczen, Reed, Langston, Ferrandis, Pichon, Pourcel, Tortelli, Lawrence bros, Musquin, Vialle, Prado (doesn't count since he has imploded), Gajser tried and can't ride SX and KTM buried Herlings in so much cash he couldn't make it happen.
You're right but let's not sugarcoat the fact that Kenny also had his issues with bikes/teams in the past and it almost took him 10 years in the 450 class to finally settle with something he doesn't have any complaints about.
He must absolutely love the Suzuki though, haven't heard a single bad thing from him since he went to HEP. Even when his shock blew up or when he struggled during WSX last year, not a single bad comment.
Twat? Did you really use that word? What a shame. It was going so well for you there, at least for a moment or two anyway, and then...... twat? Really? Twat? I mean, if you're going to try to insult someone, you need to find a way to put some real ZING into it so it gives them pause and makes them ponder their actions, and 'twat' just won't do, Hoss. It's....... it's just so damn fourth grade.
Push, Hoss, push. You got this!!!! Never mind what daddy or the other kids say about you or those frilly clothes you wear in the basement, listen to mommy. She knows the real you, and she thinks you're special.
See, Hoss? - more like that.
Post a reply to: Jorge Prado Out of SuperMotocross Playoffs